Mmmm Mmmm Monday: Southern Sweet Tea

When we found out we were moving to the South, my hubby couldn't stop talking about how he couldn't wait to drink sweet tea all the time. Until now I haven't had much success with making it myself, but I found this recipe in Southern Living* and I'm sure it'll be a hit!

3 cups water
2 family-sized tea bags
1/2 to 1 cup sugar
7 cups cold water

Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a saucepan; add tea bags. Boil 1 minute and remove from heat. Cover and steep 10 minutes.
Remove and discard tea bags. Add desired amount of sugar, stirring until dissolved. Pour into a 1 gallon container and add the 7 cups of cold water. Serve over ice.

I plan on making a big pitcher this weekend for the hubby and sis to taste test...I'm hoping for good results!

*Confession: I may or may not have ripped this recipe out of the Southern Living magazine in the waiting room at Sophia's ENT appointment this morning. And I may or may not have yanked out another equally good and can't-wait-to-try-it recipe from another periodical at said office. That's what they get for making us wait 45 minutes past our appointment time to be seen!

Never Forget

Friday Finds on Etsy: The Kitchen Diva

I love cooking, and recently in the last few years, I've begun to enjoy baking. So I was perusing Etsy for some fun baking/cooking items and found these gems. I want ALL of them.

First, you need some recipe cards. These GREAT ones are from Wide Sarcasm Sea.I've been married to my hubby for 9.5 years, and up until a couple of years ago, my mother-in-law really did think that I couldn't cook. I have lots of lovely stories. *Insert eye roll here*

Next you need the proper cooking/baking attire. Tell me that this shirt from The Bold Banana isn't awesome. I dare ya.

And of course, when you're done with your tasty creation, you always have to clean up. Do it in style with these dish gloves from ImagineAprons. Even I wouldn't mind doing the dishes with these babies!

Ever have one of those mornings?

I drove the kids to school AND went to Walmart like this today. Didn't even notice it until I got home. Thank goodness Walmart is virtually empty at 7:30 in the morning.

Friday Finds on Etsy: End of Summer BBQ

Yes, I realize that today is Saturday. I had this post half done and then my dang computer froze up on me. Technology is so wonderful, ain't it? *Shakes head.*

Anywho, with it being Labor Day weekend and the unofficial end to summer, I thought that I'd do a post about everyone's favorite holiday weekend pastime: the barbecue. We were pretty bummed in our house this summer when the hubby had to go to training starting in July, because it meant that we couldn't have our usual weekend bbq's. True, he has been home most every weekend, but we try to save it for family time and so bbq's went by the wayside this year. But the ones we did have were always a blast!

So of course I had to go check out Etsy to see what great bbq ideas they had. And look what I found!

First up are these CUTE invites from The Zesty Desk. These are perfect for those organized bbq planners...which I am not. Our bbq's are usually planned the morning of, and we send out a mass text to all our friends and hope that no one's busy. But if I could ever get my weekends under control, THESE would be the invites I'd buy! Next up is this great platter from Lenny Mud. I really want something like this for the hubby, so that he doesn't have to use the flowery platter that we currently have for everyday use. I'm sure he gets a good ribbing from "the guys" every time he grills. And a Southern bbq wouldn't be complete without a rousing game of Cornhole. These great boards are from Beverly's Butterflies. There are other sets to choose from, but I picked these out to celebrate the start of college football (Hooray! Let's go Noles and Let's go State!).

Doesn't all that make you want to fire up the grill and throw on some burgers & dogs?

Hope everyone has a safe and fun Labor Day weekend. Bring on Fall!!

He is his father's son.

Jonah Robert. My middle child. That right there should be enough explaination. He is like his father in every. single. way. He is his carbon copy in looks and temperment. He has passion flowing through his veins. It comes out in everything he does...sports, playing, even his temper. And OH! does he have a temper! (That particular trait may or may not have been passed down through my stubborn Dutch genes.) The boy can play baseball or hockey or basketball from the moment he wakes up until the time the sun sets and the mosquitos eat him up. It's always go, go go with him. He hates to sit still. He also has a plethora of one-liners that he zings at you when you're least expecting it. Anyone who knows my husband knows that this is all true for him as well. We definitely passed down the family name of Robert to the right child.

Another way that Jonah is like his daddy is when it comes to telling tall tales. My husband can't lie to save his life. He always gets this silly, crooked grin on his face and he bites his lip when he's trying to pull the wool over my eyes. And thank goodness, that little nuance has passed down to his children.

Today Jonah was trying to convince me that he had indeed read his book for 15 minutes for his homework like he was instructed by his teacher. Now, I have been in the same room with him all afternoon and he has in fact NOT read the book. But I decided to play along, and I asked him what his book was about. After getting mad at me for realizing that he was grinning while lying through his teeth (yes, it's MY fault he's fibbing!), he glanced at picture on the book cover...another thing he didn't think I'd notice...and saw that there was an American flag, Confederate flag and uniforms on the cover. So he looked at me and said "It's about the Civil War." I probed a bit more and asked "Well, what happened in the book about the Civil War?"

Without missing a beat, he replied, "Someone got shot."

It was one of those moments were I didn't know whether to scold or laugh. I decided on laughing and waved my white flag of surrender on this battle and save my energy for the next one. Lord knows it's coming.

Wordless Wednesday: The Battery